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Dino-Copter (Series)
For information on the original show entitled "Dino-Copter", see Dino-Copter (Show). Overview Dino-Copter is a long running series of cartoons by the animation studio Entertainimation starting in 1973 and ending in 1997. The show originally aired on CBS but was shown on many other television stations throughout the years. Production History "Dino-Copter" first aired on television on November 8th 1973, as a part of the Tooney Bunch Power Hour variety show, along with "Tooney Bunch" and "Captain Smackman." "Dino-Copter" was the most successful segment of the Tooney Bunch Power Hour, and by the time the show hit its 7th episode, both Tooney Bunch and Captain Smackman had been phased out. By episode 13, the show had been officially renamed Dino-Copter. Entertainimation continued to produce Dino-Copter episodes in some incarnation until March 14th, 1993, with "Dino-Copter: Copter Force, The Mighty Moon Challenge" being the final episode to air. Four years later, elements of Dino-Copter Future Force were adapted into a Japanese anime, Dino-Copter EX Riders. Dino-Copter had a number of in-house spinoffs, follow-up cartoons, and two TV movies. Characters Dino-Copter had many characters, some of which are listed below. List of Dino-Copter Cartoons Tooney Bunch Power Hour (1973) : For a full list of Tooney Bunch Power Hour episodes see: Dino-Copter Episode List : A variety show produced for CBS's Saturday morning block, the Tooney Bunch Power Hour contained 3 segments: Dino-Copter, Tooney Bunch's Whacky Adventures and Captain Smackman. : Of the three shows, only Dino-Copter proved to be popular, by episode 4 Captain Smackman segments stopped airing, and by episode 7 even the Tooney-Bunch was no longer making appearances. : The first three episodes of Dino-Copter introduced us to Danny, a young boy whose parents mysteriously disappear. He is sent to go live with a scientist in a mysterious house, but when he gets there, he only finds Dino-Copter, a talking helicopter with a dinosaur's face. The pair then embark on an adventure to find his parents. Danny's parents are rarely mentioned outside of this three part introductory episode. Dino-Copter (1973-1981) : For a full list of Dino-Copter episodes see: Dino-Copter Episode List. : A direct continuation of the Tooney Bunch Power Hour, under a different name, Dino-Copter. Most episodes revolved around Dr. T Wrecks scheming to steal Dino-Copter's Dino Power Core. Dino-Copter ran for 8 seasons and contained over 221 episodes. : This was the longest running of all of the Dino-Copter series, and introduced many of the series' villains. In the eight seasons of Dino-Copter they tackled many issues not dealt with by many other cartoons of the time. In the episode, "A Dark Moon" (season 5, episode 103) Dino-Copter has to keep Danny from doing drugs that the new kid in school gives him, and in "Serious" (Season 7, episode 160) Dino-Copter is worried that Danny may be suicidal. : Dino-Copter gained an active fanbase for its complex stories, and for the unique element of aging the protagonist as the show went on. In the original Dino-Copter alone, Danny moved from 4th grade to being in high school in the final season. Dino-Copter Babies (1976-1978) For a full list of Dino-Copter Babies episodes see: Dino-Copter Babies (Episode Guide). : An attempt to introduce the Dino-Copter characters to a younger audience, Dino-Copter Babies is the first spin-off of the series. The show revolves around Special Dreams Preschool where both a baby Danny and baby Dino-Copter have to thwart the schemes of Dr. Baby T Wrecks. : Despite the characters being younger, Dino-Copter Babies was not more child-friendly than the main cartoon. Though the violence was not more explicit than in the original series, the show still drew controversy over the portrayal of young children fighting with seemingly functional weapons. : Though Entertainimation co-founder Howie Anderson has said Dino-Copter Babies takes place in the main continuity, the show contains numerous inconsistencies, such as being the only cartoon that implies Dino-Copter is capable of aging. Dino-Copter Squad (1981-1983) : For a full list of episodes in Dino-Copter Squad see: Dino-Copter Squad Episode Guide : With the ratings of Dino-Copter starting to fall,'' Dino-Copter Squad'' came about as an attempt to rejuvenate the franchise. Though the show never reached the heights of the original Dino-Copter, it was still a big success for Entertainimation. : Dino-Copter Squad revolved around Dino-Copter and Danny making new friends and forming a team to help fight a new team of bad guys led by Dr. T Wrecks. Dino-Copter Turbo Squad (1983-1985) For a full list of Dino-Copter Turbo Squad episodes, see Dino-Copter Turbo Squad (Episode Guide). : A direct continuation of Dino-Copter Squad, Turbo ''gave all of the characters access to "Turbo Cores," allowing them to enter "Turbo mode" to fight the newly Dinofied "Dr. T Wrecks" and his newly super-powered Crab-Bots. Dinorigibles (1983-1986) : ''For a full list of Dinorigibles episodes, see Dinorigibles (Episode Guide). : A spin-off that often featured "guest appearances" by Dino-Copter, where Tricera-rigible forms his own team of dirigible Sauricles to fight a new threat, the evil Apato-Rigible, who takes over the island where all Dinorigibles live using robots he got from Dr. T Wrecks. Triceracops (1986-1987) For a full list of Triceracops episodes, see Triceracops (Episode Guide). : A followup to Dinorigibles where Tricera-rigible and his friends help solve crimes on the recently-saved Dinorigible Island. Dino-Copter Future Force (1985) For a full list of Dino-Copter Future Force episodes, see Dino-Copter Future Force Episode Guide. : A short-lived spinoff that took place in the year 2985, when Dino-Copter and Danny get sucked into the future and have to capture the 23 time cogs in order to get back home. This isn't a future free of Dr. T Wrecks, however, as he had his brain transplanted into the body of a robot and is contantly battling with the Dino-Copter of the future, Dino-Copter X. : Though it only had 13 episodes, it led to a movie adaptation, Dino-Copter Future Force: Past Presents Extreme Dino-Copter (1985-1989) For a full list of Extreme Dino-Copter episodes, see Extreme Dino-Copter (Episode Guide). : The more popular of the two 1985 spinoffs, and the most popular Dino-Copter show since the first Dino-Copter. Ran for 5 seasons. Dino-Copter Force Extreme (1989-1991) For a full list of Dino-Copter Force Extreme episodes, see Dino-Copter Force Extreme (episode guide). : A direct followup to Extreme Dino-Copter which saw the return of the Dino-Copter Squad ''characters and the introduction of some new members. Was mildly popular, but failed to reach the popularity of the previous shows. Dino-Copter Copter Force (1991-1993) : ''For a full list of Dino-Copter: Copter Force episodes, see: Dino-Copter: Copter Force Episode Guide : The final Entertainimation produced Dino-Copter show, Copter Force was an attempt at combining all the incarnations of Dino-Copter. At this point in the series Danny is much older in this series, in his mid 50's. : Dino-Copter Copter Force barely featured any of characters from the Dino-Copter Squad, as the Copter Force mostly consisted of a team-up of all of the Dino-Copters from the previous series (despite technically being the same DinoCopter). Dino-Copter EX Riders (1997) For a full list of episodes, see Dino-Copter EX Riders Episode Guide. : An anime spinoff of Dino-Copter produced by Smilevolution that was created after a mild surge in popularity of Dino-Copter Future Force in Japan in the 90's. Featured a new main cast, though Danny still made appearances, and Dino-Copter, T Wrecks and Rigormortress all featured new forms.